Gender Inequality Chapter 9 Exam Prep

CHAPTER 9 Gender Inequality

CONCEPT MAP

Are Gender Differences Due to Nature, Nurture, or Both?
1. The Role of Biology
2. Gender Socialization
3. The Social Construction of Gender
  1. Doing Gender
4. Cross-Cultural and Historical Findings
  1. New Guinea
  2. The !Kung
  3. The Bacha Posh in Afghanistan
  4. Blurring the Boundaries between the Genders
How Do Gender Inequalities Play Out in Social Institutions?
1. Education
  1. Unequal Treatment in the Classroom
  2. The Gendering of College Majors
2. Women and the Workplace
  1. Inequalities at Work
  2. The Glass Ceiling
  3. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
  4. Economic Inequality in Global Perspective
3. The Family and Gender Issues
  1. The “Motherhood Penalty”
  2. Housework and the Second Shift
4. Gender Inequality in Politics
  1. Gender and Politics: Global Perspective
Why Are Women the Target of Violence?
1. Rape
2. Sexual Violence against Women: Evidence of “Rape Culture”?
How Does Social Theory Explain Gender Inequality?
1. Functionalist Approaches
2. Feminist Approaches
  1. Liberal Feminism
  2. Radical Feminism
  3. Black Feminism and Transnational Feminism
How Can We Reduce Gender-Based Aggression?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. _______ refers to physical differences of the body between males and females.

a.	Sex	c.	Gender binary
b.	Gender	d.	Intersex

2. ______ refers to the psychological, social, and cultural differences between women and men.

a.	Sex	c.	Nonbinary
b.	Gender	d.	Intersectionality

3. Young Hee does not identity as male or female. Young Hee would most likely identify as

a.	nonbinary.
b.	transgender.
c.	lesbian.
d.	gay.

4. Hilda is a British sociologist who studies gender. She researches the day-to-day lives of female garment workers in Cambodia and concludes that the challenges facing working-class Cambodian women are very different from the challenges facing women in wealthy Western nations. Hilda's research underscores the importance of

a.	white supremacy.	c.	liberal feminism.
b.	intersectionality.	d.	biological essentialism.

5. According to your textbook, why are sociologists interested in understanding gender from an intersectional perspective?

a.	Sociologists understand that gender does not shape everyone's experiences.
b.	Intersectional research tends to receive more funding.
c.	Women of color are more interesting research subjects.
d.	Sociologists recognize that gender alone does not shape our experiences.

6. Some critics argue that women are not fit to be in leadership positions because of their gender. Which perspective are these critics exemplifying?

a.	biological essentialism	c.	liberal feminism
b.	intersectionality	d.	gender socialization

7. Which of the following is an example of aggression that is consistent with female gender role socialization?

a.	headlocks	c.	threatening gun violence
b.	perpetuating malicious gossip	d.	fist fighting

8. Theories of natural difference are often grounded in

a.	animal behavior evidence.	c.	historical evidence.
b.	anthropological evidence.	d.	social psychological evidence.

9. Which of the following statements best explains the role of biology in describing the behavior patterns of men and women?

a.	Biological differences are almost always exacerbated or fostered by social contexts and norms.
b.	There is abundant evidence that supports the position that biology primarily determines the behavior patterns in men and women.
c.	The biological evidence shows that gender is the single most important factor in determining an individual's behavior patterns.
d.	The biological evidence shows that social interaction has little to do with shaping the behavior patterns of men and women.

10. How does evidence about aggression and testosterone in males contradict the idea that biology alone defines the difference between male and female?

a.	Surgical intervention performed to reduce testosterone results in lower levels of aggression.
b.	Aggressive behavior may increase testosterone levels.
c.	Hormone levels are fixed at birth and are the reason for aggressive behavior in males.
d.	Behavioral evidence in higher primates clearly shows that males are more aggressive than females.

11. Researchers have found that boys are responded to positively when they act in masculine ways, but when they act in feminine ways they are either admonished or ignored. This finding provides the most support for which approach to gender?

a.	the biological approach	c.	the functionalist approach
b.	the gender socialization approach	d.	the social position approach

12. Kai, a boy born in Louisiana, is likely to be treated a specific way because of his gender starting at what age?

a.	from the moment he is born	c.	at the onset of puberty
b.	when he begins kindergarten	d.	when he enters the labor force

13. Theorists who believe in the social construction of gender

a.	argue that only gender is socially constructed; sex is clearly biological.
b.	argue that both gender and sex are socially constructed.
c.	argue that neither gender nor sex is socially constructed.
d.	accept that there are some gender differences that are biological.

14. How does the idea of "doing gender" differ from biological essentialism?

a.	Doing gender focuses on how gender is a role that people perform, while biological essentialism sees gender as innate.
b.	Biological essentialism is more intersectional than "doing gender."
c.	Radical feminists prefer "doing gender" while liberal feminists prefer biological essentialism.
d.	Biological essentialism sees gender as changing across time and space; "doing gender" stays the same.

15. Which of the following best exemplifies "doing gender"?

a.	going through puberty	c.	getting a spray tan
b.	choosing to wear a dress	d.	taking medication for a headache

16. What did Margaret Mead find in her study of three New Guinea societies described in Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies?

a.	In all three societies, males and females generally exhibited behaviors typically associated with the Western female role.
b.	In all three societies, males and females generally exhibited behaviors typically associated with the Western male role.
c.	Gender roles did not vary between tribes.
d.	Gender roles varied widely between tribes.

17. Which of the following statements best describes the daily lives of !Kung of the Kalahari Desert?

a.	!Kung men engage in child care.
b.	!Kung women are aggressive.
c.	!Kung women hunt.
d.	!Kung men provide the majority of the food.

18. Which of the following statements concerning Afghanistan and the bacha posh, daughters transformed into sons, is true?

a.	Families with only sons often experience shame and pity.
b.	Most of the time, a bacha posh returns to womanhood when the child enters puberty.
c.	Parents of bacha posh consider transforming their girls into boys to be cruel.
d.	Girls are highly prized.

19. What do the bacha posh in Afghanistan help sociologists better understand about gender?

a.	how gender in various societies is socially constructed
b.	that girls and boys are treated very differently in that country
c.	the importance of boys in Afghan life
d.	how deeply Afghans value education for girls

20. According to the textbook, in Navajo culture, the nadleehi, male-bodied people with feminine natures

a.	are considered especially honorable.
b.	are devalued.
c.	cross-dress because they consider cross-dressing erotic.
d.	were banned from Navajo society.

21. Variations in gender roles across cultures demonstrate that

a.	gender roles are biologically determined.
b.	gender roles are not biologically determined.
c.	Western social scientists have a bias that distorts their understanding of gender roles.
d.	gender roles are essentially the same everywhere, with only minor variations.

22. Kheim was born a male and identifies as a male. Kheim would be considered

a.	transgender.
b.	cisgender.
c.	intersex.
d.	genderfluid.

23. How does patriarchy, or male dominance in society, take shape across the world?

a.	Men are favored in most societies, but the degree of patriarchy varies.
b.	Men are favored in most societies, and patriarchy is strong throughout.
c.	Men are not favored in most societies, but the degree of patriarchy varies.
d.	Men are not favored in most societies, and patriarchy is weak in most countries.

24. In the United States, men generally have more status, power, and prestige than women. This is an example of

a.	gender conformity.	c.	gender binary.
b.	matriarchy.	d.	gender inequality.

25. How would a sociologist explain the existence of gender inequality in modern society?

a.	Men and women generally do different kinds of work.
b.	Women are responsible for childrearing.
c.	Work done by men requires more skill and education.
d.	The activities of men and women are valued differently by society.

26. What is a characteristic of the gender gap on college campuses today?

a.	Men significantly outnumber women.
b.	Men slightly outnumber women.
c.	The gender gap is larger among whites than Blacks and Latinos.
d.	The gender gap is larger among Blacks and Latinos than whites.

27. Juli is a sixteen-year-old female high school student. Which of the following scenarios most likely describes her experience in school?

a.	Juli interacts more with her teachers than her male peers do.
b.	Juli and her girlfriends are more often scolded and punished than boys.
c.	During class, teachers are more likely to solicit information from boys than from Juli.
d.	Juli is more likely to call out answers in class than her male peers.

28. Because of differential treatment in schools, Jasmine, a twelve-year-old girl, will likely be socialized to be

a.	quiet.	c.	outspoken.
b.	inquisitive.	d.	an active problem solver.

29. Of the majors listed below, which major has the lowest proportion of women?

a.	early childhood education
b.	school counseling
c.	library science
d.	engineering

30. What is more characteristic of majors dominated by women than majors dominated by men?

a.	They tend to be associated with caring and nurturing.
b.	They tend to emphasize logic and analysis.
c.	They garner the highest earnings after graduation.
d.	They tend to be in technological fields.

31. According to your textbook, over the past fifty years women's participation in the paid labor force has

a.	risen continuously.
b.	dropped continuously.
c.	remained the same.
d.	gone up and down with no clear pattern.

32. One reason for the increase in female labor force participation over the past fifty years is that

a.	there has been an increase in the demand for blue-collar work.
b.	many women now postpone family formation to complete their education and establish themselves in the labor force.
c.	there has been no increase.
d.	men have significantly reduced their labor force participation to engage in caregiving, so women have had to significantly increase their participation to compensate.

33. Child-care work is considered "women's work," and construction work is considered "men's work." Child-care workers generally make less than construction workers. This situation exemplifies

a.	the motherhood penalty.	c.	gender typing.
b.	the glass escalator.	d.	the glass ceiling.

34. According to your textbook, in 2017 the ratio of women's to men's earnings among full-time, year-round workers was

a.	52 percent.	c.	72 percent.
b.	62 percent.	d.	82 percent.

35. Which of the following statements regarding gender and work is most accurate?

a.	Women now have equal opportunity in all job occupations.
b.	Women tend to hold different jobs than men, and typically work in women-dominated fields.
c.	Sex segregation has very little effect on the gender gap in earnings.
d.	Women are biologically hardwired to be teachers.

36. John is an elementary school teacher who is encouraged by management to apply for the vacant principal position at his school. Even though there are equally qualified or more qualified female teachers, he is told he will get excellent recommendations. In this example, John is likely

a.	hitting the glass ceiling.	c.	experiencing gender typing.
b.	riding the glass escalator.	d.	benefiting from sex segregation.

37. Judy Calibuso and her coworkers brought a case against Merrill Lynch, charging them with workplace practices related to gender inequality. What relevant sociological phenomenon was most specifically at play in the charges against Merrill Lynch?

a.	gender inequality
b.	gender socialization
c.	glass ceiling
d.	intersectionality

38. Karen made an unwanted sexual advance on her date Sarah, persisting even though it was clear that Sarah was resistant. How would sociologists characterize this interaction?

a.	hegemonic masculinity	c.	sexual harassment
b.	gender typing	d.	toxic femininity

39. Which of the following is an example of quid pro quo sexual harassment?

a.	sexual language, usually by managers or supervisors
b.	lewd posters posted around the office
c.	sexual advances that make a worker uncomfortable
d.	a supervisor demanding sexual acts from a worker in return for a pay raise or promotion

40. Judy and her female colleagues are financial advisers at a bank. Their employer gave higher-profile and more profitable clients to male colleagues, leading to bigger annual bonuses and more rapid ascents up the corporate ladder. What is the most likely explanation for why women such as Judy and her colleagues hit a glass ceiling?

a.	Women lack basic qualifications.
b.	Women lack the sponsorship of well-placed, powerful senior colleagues.
c.	Women have less valuable ideas than men.
d.	Women have less innate inability.

41. Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies the concept of the motherhood penalty?

a.	Joyce is a psychologist who chose not to have children to focus on her career.
b.	Bernette is a dentist and mother of two who gets paid less than her childless female counterpart.
c.	Haley is given a heavier load at her job as a banker because she's a mother.
d.	Simone is a mother of three who is currently in med school and working full time.

42. Stanford University sociologist Shelley Correll and her colleagues’ research on the motherhood penalty found that

a.	mothers are less likely to be hired than childless women who have the same work experience and qualifications, and mothers are offered significantly lower starting pay than equally qualified childless women for the same job.
b.	mothers are less likely to be hired than childless women who have the same work experience and qualifications; however, mothers are offered significantly higher starting pay than equally qualified childless women for the same job.
c.	mothers are more likely to be hired than childless women who have the same work experience and qualifications, and mothers are offered significantly higher starting pay than equally qualified childless women for the same job.
d.	mothers are more likely to be hired than childless women who have the same work experience and qualifications; however, mothers are offered significantly lower starting pay than equally qualified childless women for the same job.

43. Of the following individuals, who most likely does the most housework?

a.	Evelyn, an unmarried childless woman.
b.	Joan, a married childless woman.
c.	Tanya, a married woman with four children.
d.	Tyrone, a married man with four children.

44. Straight couples tend to revert to traditional gender roles, with women as lower earners, bearing the brunt of stereotypical female chores. How do same-sex couples tend to compare?

a.	They tend to reverse gender roles.
b.	Couples assign chores based on personal preference.
c.	Lesbian couples tend to equally split chores, while gay couples do not.
d.	Gay couples are more likely to split chores based on income.

45. Josiah is a wealthy twenty-six-year-old black male. He says that he aspires to a romantic relationship in which he could share earnings and household responsibilities equally with his partner. What might sociologists say explains his point of view?

a.	his race	c.	his gender
b.	his socioeconomic status	d.	his age

46. What do sociologists mean by the term “second shift”?

a.	This refers to women who perform housework and child care at the end of the paid work day.
b.	This refers to women who work from 4 p.m. to midnight, or overnight.
c.	This refers to women who take a second job in order to make ends meet.
d.	This refers to women who are consistently put on double shifts by their employers.

47. Janice Hernandez is running for reelection at her political office. Based on what you know about gender and electoral politics, which office or party is she most likely to be running for reelection?

a.	Republican party	c.	U.S. Senate
b.	local office	d.	U.S. House of Representatives

48. A political office is more likely to be considered "man's work" if the position

a.	is part time.
b.	is often held by a Democrat.
c.	is based in politics further from home (state or federal).
d.	is based in local town politics.

49. Which of the following countries has the highest percentage of female members in its national legislature?

a.	The United States	c.	Iran
b.	Sweden	d.	Rwanda

50. Of the 192 countries that belong to the United Nations, how many were headed by women in January 2017?

a.	17
b.	37
c.	67
d.	107

51. The United Nations ranks countries according to a measure of gender inequality called the Gender Inequality Index. Of the countries listed below, which country ranked the worst in 2015?

a.	The United States
b.	Canada
c.	The United Kingdom
d.	China

52. Which of the following methodological approaches to a research project on sexual assault is an ethnography?

a.	A researcher distributes paper questionnaires to women on college campuses who have been sexually assaulted.
b.	A researcher sends two sets of undergraduates out to interact with others and find out how people stigmatize one of two conditions: a student who has been sexually assaulted or a student who is homeless.
c.	A researcher conducts a series of interviews with women on college campuses who have been sexually assaulted.
d.	A researcher examines the differences in the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States vs. Canada.

53. Which of the following is an accurate statement about rape?

a.	Most rapes are committed by strangers the victim does not know.
b.	Most rapes are committed by men against women.
c.	Most rapes are reported, documented, and handled by the justice system.
d.	The total number of sexual assaults, attempted rapes, and rapes has increased steadily over the past two decades.

54. Joe hangs out with men who discuss women as if they were sexual objects. This makes him insensitive to the difference between consensual and nonconsensual sex. Which concept best explains this situation?

a.	rape culture	c.	gender inequality
b.	quid pro quo sexual harassment	d.	sex segregation

55. Why did Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz carry her mattress around with her across campus?

a.	She was calling attention to the crisis of rape on campus.
b.	Her mattress revealed the unsanitary living conditions of female students.
c.	She was demonstrating the power of white privilege.
d.	Her strength showed the potential of female bodybuilding.

56. According to the textbook, which answer best explains why women are so often the target of sexual violence?

a.	Women rarely fight back.
b.	Women wear revealing clothing to provoke men.
c.	The entertainment media produces and distributes highly sexualized content that causes men to become violent.
d.	Many men believe that they are entitled to have sexual access if they already know the women.

57. Domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence best characterize

a.	toxic masculinity.
b.	quid pro quo sexual harassment.
c.	the gender binary.
d.	the nadleehi.

58. The functionalist sociologist Talcott Parsons used the term ______ to refer to providing care and security to children and offering them emotional support.

a.	expressive role	c.	gendered role
b.	instrumental role	d.	sex-segregated role

59. George is the breadwinner for his family. According to the functionalist sociologist Talcott Parsons, George is filling which role?

a.	expressive role	c.	gendered role
b.	instrumental role	d.	nonbinary role

60. Don and Juanita, a married couple, split their housework equally. According to the functionalist sociologist Talcott Parsons, why would this behavior be considered inefficient?

a.	The family is most efficient when it operates with a clear sexual division of labor.
b.	Don, like most men, dislikes housework.
c.	A high-functioning family has servants to complete tasks such as housework.
d.	Men should actually do more housework than women.

61. What is a criticism of the functionalist approach to the family expressed by sociologist Talcott Parsons?

a.	The approach condones the subordination of women.
b.	Families have to be supportive to socialize children successfully.
c.	The approach promulgates a Marxist view of the social world.
d.	The allocation of tasks in society is natural and inevitable.

62. Which statement best describes the functionalist perspective on gender?

a.	Gender inequality is the result of unequal access to civil rights and social resources.
b.	Gender inequality is rooted in male domination of society.
c.	Gender differences are heavily influenced by global processes such as colonialism and racism.
d.	Gender differences contribute to social stability and integration.

63. A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of women is known as

a.	feminist theory.	c.	queer theory.
b.	functionalist theory.	d.	postmodern theory.

64. Which of the following positions do all schools of feminist thought share?

a.	Women have an unequal position in society.
b.	Gender has little influence on social life.
c.	Gender inequality can never be eradicated.
d.	Gender inequality is not a social construction.

65. Which form of feminist theory believes that unequal access to civil rights and certain social resources produces gender inequality?

a.	liberal feminism	c.	functionalist feminism
b.	radical feminism	d.	transnational feminism

66. Which reform strategy would liberal feminists encourage to promote gender equality?

a.	the abolition of marriage
b.	a revolution against capitalist economies
c.	abolish affirmative action policies
d.	institute family-friendly policies in the workplace

67. Which perspective argues that gender inequality is the result of male domination in all aspects of social and economic life?

a.	liberal feminism	c.	black feminism
b.	radical feminism	d.	transnational feminism

68. Which feminist would most likely advocate for the overthrowing of the patriarchal order?

a.	Jacqui, a liberal feminist	c.	Pathi, a symbolic interactionist
b.	Loren, a radical feminist	d.	Shawna, a Parsonian functionalist

69. Which perspective focuses on the interaction of race, class, and gender in the disadvantages women face?

a.	liberal feminism	c.	Marxism
b.	radical feminism	d.	black feminism

70. Labor advocates have noted that the workers who died in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh were primarily women. Which sociological lens might be especially useful for understanding this tragedy?

a.	liberal feminism	c.	Marxism
b.	radical feminism	d.	transnational feminism

71. What can we conclude about the effectiveness of programs like the Green Dot Bystander Intervention program at the University of Kentucky in reducing gender-based violence on campus?

a.	Intervention programs have little effect on those that take the course.
b.	Intervention programs can reduce gender-based violence on campus by half for those who participate in the program.
c.	Intervention programs can decrease gender-based violence, but only in substance-free dorms.
d.	Without more evidence, we cannot know how effective these programs are.

1. In a short paragraph, discuss the influence of nature and nurture in the formation of gender identity. How do arguments that biology primarily influences gender differ from sociological views of gender socialization?

2. What does the story of identical twins raised as different genders suggest about the role of social interaction and social context in explaining gender differences? Explain your answer in three to five sentences.

3. Using the !Kung of the Kalahari Desert, the bacha posh in Afghanistan, and the nadleehi in Navajo culture as support, discuss in a short paragraph how gender can be seen as a social construction.

4. Answer the following questions in a short paragraph. In what ways are boys and girls treated differently at school, according to your textbook? What are some consequences of this differential treatment?

5. In one to two sentences, describe female labor-force participation patterns over the past fifty years. In two to three more sentences describe how this pattern can be explained.

6. How do gender, marital status, and parental status interact in time spent doing housework? Answer in two to five sentences.

7. In two to three sentences, please explain why, according to your textbook, women are so often the target of sexual violence.

8. In a short paragraph discuss Talcott Parsons's view of the family. Do you agree with his analysis? Why or why not? Please explain.

9. Compare and contrast liberal feminism with radical feminism. Which perspective do you believe best explains gender inequality today? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

10. In two to four sentences, explain what criticisms black feminists make about liberal feminist theory.

11. In a paragraph, discuss how we can reduce gender-based aggression following the discussion in the textbook. Provide examples.

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Aug 21, 2025

Chapter Name:

Chapter 9 Gender Inequality

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Richard P. Appelbaum

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